p 


ACTS 


J^BOUT 


JKaSKA  : 


ITS  PEOPLE, 

VILLAGES, 

MISSIONS, 

SCHOOLS. 


BY 


/ 


SHELDON  JACKSON,  D.D., 

U.  S.  GENERAL  AGT.  OF  ED.  IN  ALASKA. 


WOMAN’S  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE  OF  HOME  MISSIONS 
OF  THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH, 


156  Fifth  Avenue, 


New  York  City. 


FACTS  ABOUT  ALASKA: 

ITS  PEOPLE,  VILLAGES,  MISSIONS  AND  SCHOOLS. 


By  Rev.  SHELDON  JACKSON,  D.D. 


SCATTERED  over  this  vast  North-land,  in  clusters  of  small  settlements,  is  h 
population  composed  approximately  of  15,000  Innuit,  or  Eskimo,  2,145 
Aleuts,  1,756  Creoles,  5,100  Tinneh,  3,000  Thlingets,  788  Hydah,  and 
2,000  whites,  making  a  total  of  33,623.* 

THE  INNUIT. 

The  Innuit  occupy  the  entire  coast  line  of  Alaska,  with  the  outlying  islands 
along  the  Arctic  coast  to  Bering  Strait  ;  thence  southward  to  the  Aliaska 
Peninsula,  over  the  peninsula  and  eastward  and  northward  along  the  Pacific 
coast  to  Mount  Saint  Elias,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  territory  on  Cook’s 
Inlet  and  at  the  mouth  of  Copper  River,  where  the  Tinnah  from  the  interior 
have  forced  their  way  to  the  coast.  Occupying  the  coast  line,  they  are  bold 
navigators  and  skilled  fishermen  and  sea  hunters. 

The  term  “  Innuit”  is  the  native  word  for  “  people,  ”  and  is  the  name  used 
by  themselves,  signifying  “  our  people.”  The  term  “  Eskimo”  is  one  of  reproach, 
given  them  by  their  neighbors,  meaning  “  raw- fish  eaters.”  The  Innuit  of  Alaska 
are  a  much  finer  race  physically  than  their  brethren  of  Greenland  and  Labrador. 
They  are  tall  and  muscular,  many  of  them  being  six  feet  and  over  in  height. 
They  have  small  black  eyes,  high  cheek  bones,  large  mouth,  thick  lips,  coarse 
brown  hair,  and  fresh  yellow  complexions.  In  many  instances  the  men  have  full 
beards  and  moustaches.  In  some  sections  the  men  wear  a  labret  under  each 
corner  of  the  mouth,  in  a  hole  cut  through  the  lower  lip  for  the  purpose. 

They  are  a  good-natured  people,  always  smiling  when  spoken  to.  They  are 
fond  of  dancing,  running,  jumping,  and  all  athletic  sports.  While  they  speak  a 
common  language  from  the  Arctic  to  the  Pacific,  each  locality  has  its 
own  dialect. 

The  native  dress  is  the  parkas,  made  of  the  skins  of  animals  and  some¬ 
times  of  the  breasts  of  birds  and  skins  of  fishes.  However,  where  they  have 
access  to  the  stores  of  traders  the  more  progressive  buy  ready-made  clothing. 

Their  residences  have  the  outward  appearance  of  a  circular  mound  of  earth 
covered  with  grass,  with  a  small  opening  at  the  top  for  the  escape  of  smoke. 
The  entrance  is  a  small  and  narrow  hallway  to  the  main  room,  which  is  from  12 
to  20  feet  in  diamater,  and  is  without  light  or  ventilation.  Those  of  the  Kadiak 
district  have  one  or  two  small  bed  rooms  opening  into  the  main  room. 

The  diet  consists  of  the  meat  of  the  moose,  reindeer,  bear  and  smaller 
fur  bearing  animals  ;  also  of  fish,  the  white  whale,  the  walrus,  seal,  and 
various  water  fowl.  In  the  northern  section  they  have  a  great  aversion  to  salt. 
While  they  will  eat  with  great  relish  decayed  fish  or  putrid  oil,  they  will  spit  out 
with  a  wry  face  a  mouthful  of  choice  corned  beef. 

Men,  women  and  children  are  inveterate  smokers. 

While  they  travel  continually  in  the  summer,  they  have  permanent 
winter  homes. 

Their  religious  belief  is  quite  indefinite.  In  a  general  way  they  believe  in 
a  power  that  rewards  the  good  and  punishes  the  bad,  by  sending  them  to  differ- 

*  These  figures  are  only  approximate,  as  from  a  combination  of  causes  the  census  of  i8qo 
of  that  section  is  unreliable  and  incomplete. 


ent  places  after  death.  They  are  barbarians,  and,  with  the  exception  of  those  in 
Southern  Alaska,  have  not  had  civilizing,  educational,  or  religious  advantages. 

From  the  boundary  line  to  Bering  Strait,  along  the  bleak  Arctic  coast,  villages 
are  placed  here  and  there,  wherever  there  is  a  sheltered  harbor  with  good  hunting 
or  fishing;  the  population  of  these  aggregates  3,000. 

At  Point  Barrow,  the  most  northern  portion  of  land  on  the  continent,  there 
is  a  village  (Nuwuk)  of  31  families  and  150  people.  They  inhabit  houses  01 
tupecs  that  are  built  partly  under  ground  for  warmth.  The  upper  portion  is 
roofed  over  with  dirt,  supported  by  rafters  of  whale  jaws  and  ribs.  Eight  or  ten 
miles  south  of  Nuwuk  is  Oot-ke-ah-ve,  with  a  population  of  300  to  400. 

This  is  one  of  the  villages  selected  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Educa¬ 
tion  for  the  establishment  of  a  school,  the  contract  for  which  was  given  to  the 
Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  for  the  Woman’s  Executive 
Committee  of  Home  Missions.  The  money  necessary  for  its  establishment  was 
generously  contributed  by  Mrs.  Elliott  F.  Shepard,  of  New  York.  The  first 
teacher  was  Prof.  M.  L.  Stevenson,  of  Versailles,  Ohio,  who  reached  the  place 
on  J  uly  30,  1890. 

In  1892  Mr.  Stevenson  was  appointed  by  the  Government,  Keeper  of  the 
Refuge  Station.  This  station  is  next  Upernavik,  Greenland,  the  northernmost 
mission  in  the  world.  Mr.  Stevenson  reports  it  very  interesting  to  see  their 
black  eyes  flash  and  their  dusky  counter,  ances  brighten  as  they  learn  a  new  word 
or  a  new  combination  of  figures.  They  seem  to  pride  themselves  on  knowing 
English,  but  manifest  little  desire  to  speak  it,  as  that  -would  be  breaking  off  from 
their  traditions,  and  their  Im-ut-koots  (doctors)  would  let  the  evil  one  take  full 
possession  of  them  for  thus  abandoning  the  style  of  former  days. 

The  attendance  for  the  most  part  was  very  irregular,  owing  to  the  trips 
that  had  to  be  made  out  to  the  caches  where  the  deer  was  stored,  and  wThich 
they  brought  in  for  food,  as  required,  and  for  the  catching  of  seals  for  both 
food  and  fuel. 

After  the  age  of  four  is  reached,  no  parent  is  able  to  tell  the  age  of  his 
children,  and  they  are  not  positively  certain  beyond  three  years,  so  that  the 
classification  by  ages  in  school  is  mere  guess  work.  Knowledge  of  the  past  is 
summed  up  in  the  single  word  “I-pan-ee,”  which  may  be  yesterday  or  ten  thou¬ 
sand  years  ago,  or  any  indefinite  period. 

Five  seems  to  be  the  basis  and  almost  the  extent  of  their  mathematical 
comprehension,  and  beyond  the  limit  of  15  the  best  of  them  become  confused, 
and  cut  off  further  count  by  a  single  word,  “  Am-a-lok-tuk,”  which  may  be  an)r- 
thing,  from  one  upwards.  It  seems  to  mean  plenty.  If  there  is  enough  for  the 
present  meal  it  is  “  Am-a-lok-tuk.” 

The  coldest  weather  reported  was  42  y2  degrees  below  zero.  The  long, 
dark  (for  the  night  extends  from  November  T9  to  January  23)  Arctic  winter  wore 
away  until  April  14,  when  the  report  of  “  whales  seen  in  the  lead”  set  every  one 
wild  with  excitement,  nearly  breaking  up  the  school.  All  the  pupils  large 
enough  left  immediately  to  hunt  whales,  and  a  few  weeks  later  the  remaining 
boys  and  girls  left  to  drive  the  dog  teams  that  were  transporting  the  whale¬ 
bone  and  meat  to  the  village  from  the  edge  of  the  ice,  from  12  to  20  miles 
out  to  sea. 

At  this  village  is  also  located  the  Government  refuge  station  for  ship- 
wTrecked  whalers.  Within  the  past  ten  years  some  2,000  sailors  have  been 
wrecked  on  this  Arctic  coast.  So  far  they  have  been  fortunate  in  finding  vessels 
within  reach  to  carry  them  south  to  civilization,  but  the  occasion  is  liable  to  come 
any  season  when  they  will  be  compelled  to  winter  here.  To  a  large  body  of  men 
this  means  slow  starvation  and  death.  They  could  not  .subsist  on  the  country, 
and  there  is  no  adequate  provision  within  1,500  or  2,000  miles;  and  when  the 
long  Arctic  winter  sets  in  no  power  on  earth  could  reach  them  with  help.  To 
provide  against  any  such  horrible  tragedy  Capt.  M.  A.  Healy,  U.  S.  R.  M.  saw  the 
need  of  having  an  ample  supply  of  provisions  stored  at  some  central  place  in  the 
Arctic  region.  The  plan  grew  and  took  shape  in  his  own  mind.  He  enlisted  his 
friends  and  the  men  interested  in  the  whaling  industry,  particularly  in  New  Bed¬ 
ford  and  San  Francisco,  and  finally,  after  many  vexatious  delays  that  would  have 


4 


GROUP  OF  NATIVES  AT  POINT  BARROW, 


5 


discouraged  a  less  persistent  man,  Congress  voted  the  money  for  erecting  the 
buildings  and  procuring  the  provisions. 

In  1889  Capt.  Healy  brought  up  the  materials  and  erected  the  main  build¬ 
ing,  which  is  a  low  one-story  structure,  30  by  48  feet  in  i  ize.  The  walls,  roof  and 
floor  are  made  double,  as  a  protection  against  the  intense  cold  of  this  high  north¬ 
ern  latitude  in  winter.  It  will  accommodate  50  men  comfortably ;  it  can  shelter 
100  if  necessary.  The  house  has  provisions  for  100  men  12  months,  and  is  ad¬ 
mirably  adapted  for  its  purpose. 

Three  hundred  and  ten  miles  south  of  Point  Barrow  on  the  Arctic  coast,  is 
Point  Hope,  with  a  population  of  300.  At  this  village  is  a  successful  mis¬ 
sion  and  school,  conducted  by  Mr.  John  B.  Driggs,  M.  D.,  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Society.  During  the  winter  of  1890-1  the  attendance  at 
school  numbered  68. 

The  school  was  opened  on  the  is;  of  October,  1890.  The  day  brought  with  it 
a  blizzard  and  snow  storm  that  lasted  for  nine  days  During  the  morning  the 
teacher  occupied  the  schoolroom  alone,  but  as  time  v  're  on  and  no  pupils  came 
he  put  on  his  furs  and  started  for  the  village  to  hunc  up  the  children.  Upon 
going  outside  the  house  he  found  a  boy  walking  the  beach.  Taking  him  into  the 
schoolroom,  he  commenced  school.  At  the  close  of  the  afternoon  he  presented 
his  pupil  with  a  couple  of  pan-cakes  left  from  his  own  breakfast.  The  effect  was 
equal  to  any  reward  of  merit.  That  boy  proved  one  of  the  most  regular  in 
attendance  during  the  entire  winter  season.  The  next  morning  four  presented 
themselves,  and  from  that  the  school  grew  to  68.  A  mixture  of  flour,  molasses, 
and  water  made  a  sort  of  cake,  a  little  of  which  was  given  to  the  pupils  each 
evening,  proving  not  only  a  very  cheap  and  efficient  method  of  securing  regular 
attendance,  and  promoting  discipline,  as  they  had  to  be  both  present  and  perfect 
in  their  deportment  and  recitations  to  be  entitled  to  cake.  The  scholars  usually 
arrived  from  six  to  seven  in  the  morning  and  remained  all  day.  The  sun  disap¬ 
peared  on  the  10th  of  December  and  returned  on  the  3d  of  January,  giving  them 
a  night  of  twenty-four  days.  Lamps  were  required  in  the  schoolroom  from 
November  12  to  February  9.  The  thermometer  varied  in  the  coldest  weather 
from  27  to  31  degrees  below  zero,  the  average  of  the  winter  being  probably  about 
15  degrees  below  zero.  During  February  and  a  portion  of  March  a  series  of  bliz¬ 
zards  set  in  that  were  beyond  description.  The  ice  was  solid  across  the  ocean  to 
Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  200  miles  distant.  The  effect  of  the  gales  was  such  that  at 
times  it  seemed  as  if  the  schoolhouse  must  be  blown  away.  Snow  flew  in  perfect 
sheets.  The  schoolhouse  was  located  two  miles  from  the  village,  and  yet,  notwith¬ 
standing  the  storms  and  distance,  the  attendance  was  good.  For  a  few  days  the 
teacher  hired  men  to  see  the  little  ones  safely  home  through  the  storm  (the  two 
miles  distance),  but  soon  found  that  the  precaution  was  unnecessary ;  that  they 
were  accustomed  to  take  care  of  themselves. 

Two  hundred  and  twenty  miles  south  of  Point  Hope  is  situated  the  vil¬ 
lage  of  Cape  Prince  of  Wales  on  the  American  side  of  Bering  Straits.  It  con¬ 
tains  a  population  of  539  Eskimos.  In  1890  the  American  Missionary  Association 
(Congregational)  established  a  station  at  this  place,  with  Messrs.  W.  T.  Lopp  and 
H.  R.  Thornton,  teachers;  School  was  opened  on  the  18th  of  August,  1890,  with 
only  about  one-fourth  of  the  population  returned  to  the  village  from  their  sum¬ 
mer’s  hunt. 

The  school  being  established  among  a  wild  people  who  had  known  no  re¬ 
straints,  and  who  could  not  comprehend  the  purposes  or  language  of  .the  teach¬ 
ers  in  coming  to  them,  at  first,  through  misapprehension  there  was  a  good  deal  of 
trouble.  On  the  19th  of  September  Elignak,  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  of  the 
village,  and  one  of  his  wives,  both  in  a  state  of  beastly  intoxication,  tried  to  force 
their  way  into  the  house.  On  the  23d  of  September  some  of  the  students  became 
so  boisterous  and  unruly  in  the  schoolroom  that  they  also  had  to  be  excluded 
from  the  house.  And  again,  in  November,  drunken  parties  tried  to  break  in  and 
make  a  disturbance,  so  that,  for  two  months  the  teachers  taught,  ate,  worked 
and  slept  with  loaded  arms  at  hand,  not  knowing  at  what  moment  they  might 
have  to  defend  the  property  committed  to  them,  and  their  lives.  They  were  con¬ 
stantly  harassed  with  questions  as  to  when  resistance  should  begin  and  how  far 

6 


it  would  be  justifiable,  debating  in  their  own  minds  whether  it  would  be  better  to 
allow  themselves  to  be  robbed  or  murdered  without  resistance,  or  through  resist¬ 
ance  make  the  savages  respect  their  manhood. 

The  danger  to  the  station  was  greatly  increased  by  an  epidemic  of  the  grip, 
which  carried  away  26  people  in  two  months.  This  was  by  the  superstitions  of 
the  people  attributed  to  the  presence  of  the  white  men  among  them.  However, 
through  tact  and  good  management  and  the  providence  of  God,  hostilities  were 
prevented,  and  by  January  the  strained  situation  was  greatly  relieved.  Mutual 
confidence  sprang  up  between  the  natives  and  the  teachers.  Having  heard,  be¬ 
fore  going  to  the  place,  of  the  bad  reputation  of  the  people  (which,  however,  it 
was  found  they  did  not  deserve),  and  feeling  that  a  people  who  knew  nothing  of 
schools  would  not  endure  for  any  length  of  time  the  restraints  of  a  schoolroom, 
and  the  cost  of  building  being  very  great  (all  lumber  and  material  being 
sent  from  San  Francisco,  3,000  miles),  the  schoolhouse  was  built  to  hold 
about  50  pupils,  and  it  was  thought  that  if  50  pupils  could  be  obtained 
among  such  a  people,  under  such  circumstances,  it  would  be  a  very  great 
success.  But  to  the  astonishment  of  the  teachers  themselves  and  to  the  aston¬ 
ishment  of  the  friends  of  education  interested  in  these  Arctic  schools,  it  was 
found  that  the  total  enrollment  for  the  first  year  was  304  pupils,  out  of  a  popula- 
lation  of  539  people.  The  average  daily  attendance  for  the  last  seven  months 
of  the  school  was  146,  and  the  average  daily  attendance  for  the  whole  session  of 
nine  months  was  105.  As  the  schoolroom  would  hold  only  about  50  at  a  time,  the 
teachers  were  compelled  to  divide  the  pupils  into  three  classes,  and  holding  morn¬ 
ing,  afternoon,  and  evening  sessions  of  school.  And  then,  to  prevent  the  chil¬ 
dren  who  belonged  to  the  afternoon  or  evening  school  from  smuggling  them¬ 
selves  into  the  morning  session,  or  the  morning  children  from  remaining  to  the 
afternoon  or  evening  session,  it  was  found  necessary  to  build  two  parallel  snow 
walls  some  distance  from  the  schoolroom  door,  and  when  the  bell  stopped  ring¬ 
ing  for  school  the  teachers  ranged  themselves  on  either  side,  in  order  to  sift  the 
children  that  were  trying  to  get  into  the  schoolroom.  It  was  with  great  difficulty 
that  the  pupils  were  made  to  understand  that  it  was  not  proper  to  talk  and  laugh 
and  jump  over  the  benches  in  the  schoolroom  during  school  as  much  as  they 
pleased  ;  nor  could  they  understand  why  30  or  40  visitors  could  not  lounge  about 
the  room  which  was  needed  for  those  who  desired  to  study ;  so  that  upon  several 
occasions  it  became  necessary  to  exclude  certain  parties  from  the  schoolroom,  but 
this  exclusion  of  a  few  days  was  all  that  was  necessary.  It  was  considered  a  great 
punishment  not  to  be  able  to  come  to  school.  During  the  epidemic  a  number  of 
slates  of  the  children  that  they  had  been  allowed  to  take  home  at  night  were  re¬ 
turned  by  order  of  the  medicine  men,  who  ascribed  that  much  of  the  sickness  was 
due  to  the  slates  and  the  pictures  which  the  children  made  upon  them — they  were 
“bad  medicine.” 

The  teachers  began  their  school  work  by  learning  the  Eskimo  names  of  the 
most  important  objects  in  daily  use  and  training  their  pupils  in  the  English 
equivalents.  From  words  they  proceeded  to  phrases,  and  from  phrases  to  sen¬ 
tences,  teaching  them  to  translate  the  Eskimo  into  English  and  vice  versa.  They 
gradually  added  English  letters  and  numbers,  together  with  some  elementary 
geography  and  arithmetic.  Although  they  had  had  a  combined  experience  of 
thirteen  years  in  the  schoolroom  in  the  States,  the  teachers  declare  that  they 
never  had  more  quick-witted,  intelligent  pupils  than  these  wild  Eskimo  children. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  school  year  only  a  few  could  count  ten  in  a  blundering 
fashion,  and  nine-tenths  of  the  pupils  knew  practically  no  English  whatever.  At 
the  close  of  the  first  school  year  they  had  a  good  working  vocabulary,  knew  some¬ 
thing  of  geography  and  map-drawings  understood  thoroughly  the  decimal  basis 
of  our  numbers,  could  count  up  to  one  thousand,  work  examples  in  simple  addi¬ 
tion,  write  and  read  simple  English  words,  and  carry  on  a  conversation  in  Eng¬ 
lish  on  everyday  practical  matters.  The  pupils  showed  a  remarkable  desire  to 
learn  for  learning’s  sake.  During  1891-2  the  average  daily  attendance  was  106, 
and  during  t 892-3,  160. 

In  the  summer  of  1893  Mr.  W.  T.  Lopp  was  appointed  Superintendent  of 
the  Reindeer  Station  at  Port  Clarence,  and  with  his  wife  removed  to  that  place. 


7 


leaving  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  R.  Thornton  in  charge  of  the  mission.  On  the  19th  of 
August,  1893,  Mr.  Thornton  was  assassinated  by  two  young  men,  whom  he  had 
expelled  from  school  for  disorderly  conduct.  The  community  at  once  showed 
their  horror  at  the  act  by  summarily  killing  both  the  murderers. 

After  the  death  of  her  husband  Mrs.  Thornton  returned  to  her  parents  in 
Maine,  and  the  mission  was  closed  for  the  season  of  1893-4. 

This  mission  is  an  important  point  from  which  to  carry  the  gospel  across 
to  the  tribes  of  Siberia,  46  miles  distant. 

In  the  narrow  strait,  separating  Asia  from  America,  is  a  small  group  of 
islands  called  the  Diomede.  On  these  islands  are  three  hundred  Innuit. 

The  largest  of  the  Diomede  Islands  belongs  to  Russia  and  the  smaller  one 
to  the  United  States.  They  are  both  inhabited,  and  at  this  point  the  inhabitants 
of  Russia  and  the  United  States  are  only  separated  by  a  channel  two  miles  wide. 

The  Eskimo  of  the  Diomedes  with  those  at  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  are  the 
great  smugglers  of  the  north.  Launching  their  walrus-skin  boats  (umniak)  they 
boldl}r  cross  to  and  from  Siberia,  trading  the  deer-skins,  sinew  and  wooden  ware 
of  Alaska  for  the  walrus,  ivory,  skins  of  tame  reindeer,  whale  blubber  of  Siberia, 
fire-arms  and  whiskey. 

Nearly  midway  between  Cape  Prince  of  Wales  and  Point  Hope  is  Kotze¬ 
bue  Sound,  around  which  are  a  number  of  villages  of  the  Arctic  Eskimo.  Some 
of  the  hills  surrounding  this  sound  rise  to  the  height  of  a  thousand  feet,  and  are 
covered  with  a  species  of  wild  cotton,  that  in  its  season  gives  the  appearance 
of  snow. 

The  Noatak  and  Kowak  Rivers,  both  large  streams,  and  also  the  Salawick, 
empty  into  the  sound.  This  is  one  of  the  places  where  the  people  come  in  July 
from  all  sections  of  the  country  for  the  purposes  of  trade  and  barter.  The  Innuit 
of  the  coast  bring  their  oil,  walrus  hides,  and  seal  skins ;  the  Tinneh  their  furs 
from  the  interior,  and  the  Chuckchees  their  reindeer-skins,  fire-arms  and  whiskey 
from  Asia. 

Sixty  miles  east  of  Cape  Prince  of  Wales  is  Port  Clarence.  At  the  head  of 
this  bay  I  located  for  the  Government  the  central  station  and  main  distributing 
point  for  the  domesticated  reindeer,  which  are  being  introduced  into  Alaska. 
In  1890,  when  I  first  visited  arctic  Alaska  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  schools 
and  missions  among  the  Eskimos,  I  found  them  in  a  starving  condition.  The 
persistent  pursuit  of  the  whale  by  American  whalers  had  so  far  killed  or  driven 
off  that  animal,  that  the  natives  could  no  longer  secure  them  for  food.  It  was  at 
once  seen  that  something  had  to  be  done  or  in  a  few  years  there  would  be  no 
people  left,  and,  that  while  we  offer  them  the  gospel  with  one  hand,  we  must 
offer  them  food  with  the  other.  In  conference  with  Captain  Healy,  commanding 
the  Revenue  Cutter  on  which  I  was  travelling,  it  was  concluded  to  make  the 
attempt  to  introduce  the  tame  reindeer  of  Siberia  into  Alaska,  and  teaching  the 
Eskimos  their  care  and  management,  so  that  they  could  become  herders,  and  live 
off  their  herds  of  reindeers,  as  the  New  Mexican  lives  off  his  flock  of  sheep.  This 
enterprise  I  have  successfully  commenced,  and  in  the  fall  of  1893  there  were  348 
reindeer  in  the  herd  at  Port  Clarence. 

On  King’s  Island,  south  of  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  is  a  village  of  the  cave 
dwellers,  numbering  200.  This  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  settlements  in 
America.  The  island  is  a  great  mass  of  besalt  rock,  about  a  mile  in  length,  ris¬ 
ing  from  the  sea  with  perpendicular  sides  from  700  to  1,000  feet  above  the  water. 
On  the  south  side  the  wall  is  broken  down  by  a  ravine  rising  at  an  angle  of  45 
degrees,  and  is  filled  with  loose  rock.  A  great  permanent  snow  bank  fills  the 
ravine  from  the  bottom  to  the  top  of  the  mountain.  On  the  west  side  of  the 
snow  is  the  village  of  Ouk-ivak,  which  consists  of  some  40  dwellings  or  under¬ 
ground  houses,  partly  excavated  in  the  side  of  the  hill,  and  built  up  with  stone 
walls.  Across  the  top  of  these  walls  are  large  poles  made  from  the  driftwood 
that  is  caught  floating  around  the  island.  Upon  these  are  placed  hides  and 
grass,  which  are  in  turn  covered  with  dirt.  A  low  tunnel  or  dirt-covered  hall¬ 
way,  10  to  15  feet  long,  leads  directly  under  the  center  of  the  dwelling.  This  is 
so  low  that  it  is  necessary  to  stoop  and  often  creep  in  entering.  At  the  end  of 

8 


KINGS  ISLAND 


9 


the  hall  directly  overhead  is  a  hole  about  18  inches  in  diameter.  This  is  the  en¬ 
trance  to  the  dwelling  above. 

Frequently  in  summer,  these  caves  become  too  damp  to  live  in.  The  people 
then  erect  a  summer  house  upon  the  top  of  the  winter  one.  The  summer  house 
consists  of  walrus  hides,  stretched  over  a  wooden  frame,  making  a  room  from 
io  to  15  feet  square.  These  summer  houses  are  guyed  to  rocks  with  rawhide 
ropes,  to  prevent  them  from  being  blown  off  into  the  sea.  The  entrance  is  an 
oval  hole  in  the  walrus  hide,  about  two  feet  above  the  floor.  Outside  of  the  door  is 
a  narrow  platform  about  two  feet  wide,  leading  back  to  the  side  of  the  hill.  Some 
of  these  platforms  are  from  1 5  to  20  feet  above  the  roofs  of  the  huts  below  them. 
Across  the  ravine  from  the  village,  at  the  base  of  the  perpendicular  sides  of  the 
island  is  a  cave,  into  the  mouth  of  which  the  surf  dashes  and  roars.  At  the  back 
of  the  cave  is  a  large  bank  of  perpetual  snow.  This  cave  is  the  storehouse  of  the 
whole  village.  Walrus  and  seal  meat  is  stored  away  in  rooms  excavated  in  the 
snow.  As  the  temperature  in  the  cave  never  rises  above  freezing  point,  meat  so 
stored  soon  freezes  solid  and  keeps  indefinitely. 

South  of  King’s  Island  is  that  of  St.  Lawrence,  the  largest  island  in  Be¬ 
ring  Sea.  On  the  extreme  northwest  corner  is  the  village  of  Chib-u-Chak,  with  21 
houses,  containing  a  population  of  270,  of  whom  125  are  under  21  years  of  age. 
The  houses  are  from  20  to  50  feet  in  size.  For  a  distance  of  five  or  six  feet  above 
the  ground  the  walls  are  built  of  driftwood,  whalebone,  or  timbers  and  planks 
from  shipwrecked  vessels.  These  are  placed  on  end,  side  by  side,  forming  an 
inclosure  in  a  circular  or  oblong  form.  The  cracks  between  these  planks  are 
stuffed  with  moss.  The  rafters  are  covered  with  walrus  and  seal  skins,  form¬ 
ing  the  roof.  Some  roofs  are  in  the  shape  of  a  cone  and  others  of  a  dome.  The 
interior  is  partitioned  off  around  the  sides  with  deer  skin  curtains,  forming 
sleeping  apartments.  All  around,  inside  and  outside,  are  filth,  dirt,  sleds, 
spears,  snowshoes  and  household  utensils.  The  houses  and  tents  are  located 
with  no  reference  to  order  or  street  lines.  The  sleds  are  shod  with  bone.  On  a 
few  small  ones,  the  whole  runner  was  made  of  a  walrus  tusk. 

If  the  building  is  a  very  large  one  there  is  a  row  of  supporting  poles  on 
each  side,  midway  between  the  center  and  sides.  Over  the  rafter  poles  are 
stretched  walrus  hides.  These  are  held  in  position  by  rawhide  ropes,  attached 
to  which  and  hanging  down  the  sides  of  the  building  are  the  vertebrae  of  whales, 
large  stones,  and  old  iron  from  shipwrecked  vessels.  This  anchorage  both 
stretches  the  skins  and  prevents  them  from  being  blown  off.  These  skins 
being  translucent  let  in  a  great  deal  of  light.  There  are  no  windows  in  the  house, 
and  but  a  small  opening,  about  two  and  a  half  feet  above  the  ground,  for  a  door. 
Fire,  when  they  have  any,  is  made  on  the  dirt  floor  in  the  center  of  the  room. 
Each  building  is  occupied  by  several  families.  Near  the  house  is  a  scaffold,  made 
of  posts  of  the  jaw  bones  of  the  whale.  These  are  seven  to  ten  feet  high  and  10 
feet  wide.  On  these  are  placed  the  skin  boats,  harness  of  the  dogs,  meat,  etc., 
so  as  to  be  out  of  the  reach  of  dogs.  Upon  one  of  these,  attached  to  the  whale¬ 
bone  cross  beam,  was  a  child’s  swing,  made  of  walrus  rope. 

I  saw  several  excavations  where  underground  houses  had  once  been,  and 
one  such  house  still  standing  with  the  roof  partially  fallen  in.  The  sides  were 
composed  of  walrus  skulls  laid  up  like  a  stone  wall.  In  this  house  were  some 
corpses,  together  with  the  spear,  arrowheads  and  personal  belongings  of  the  dead. 

Passing  from  house  to  house  I  was  followed  by  a  crowd  of  dirty  but 
bright-looking  children.  From  the  eldest  to  the  child  which  was  just  able  to  talk 
they  asked  for  tobacco,  which  is  used  by  both  sexes  and  all  ages  down  to  the 
nursing  child.  Five  little  girls,  from  four  to  ten  years  of  age,  gave  a  native  dance. 
They  commenced  with  a  swinging  motion  of  the  body  from  side  to  side,  throwing 
their  weight  alternately  upon  each  foot.  This  was  accompanied  by  an  explos¬ 
ive  grunt  or  squeak,  as  if  the  air  was  being  violently  expelled  from  the  lungs.  As 
they  warmed  up  they  whirled  around,  writhed  and  twisted  their  bodies  and  dis¬ 
torted  their  faces  into  all  manner  of  shapes  and  expressions,  until  they  would 
fall  down  with  dizziness. 

In  1891  I  erected  a  good  schoolhouse  and  teachers’  residence  at  the  village, 
but  up  to  the  winter  of  1893-4  no  suitable  missionary  and  his  wife  have  been 


10 


found  for  the  place.  This  building,  through  the  liberality  of  two  ladies,  is  the 
property  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Home  Missions,  and  there  is  a  fair 
prospect  that  a  missionary  will  be  sent  this  season. 

In  1878  the  island  was  the  scene  of  a  great  tragedy.  Starvation  and  pesti¬ 
lence  carried  away  over  400  of  the  people.  When  the  revenue  cutter  visited  the 
island  in  1880,  in  four  villages  not  a  man,  woman  or  child  was  left  to  tell  the  tale; 
the  corpses  of  the  population  alone  were  found.  All  the  villages  on  the  island, 
with  the  single  exception  of  Chib-u  Chak,  had  been  swept  out  of  existence. 

In  1884  Captain  Healy  reports,  “  At  the  villages  along  the  north  shore  no 
sign  of  living  beings  could  be  found,  but  the  still  decaying  bodies  of  the  unfortu¬ 
nate  Eskimo  were  lying  in  and  about  the  falling  houses.” 

From  Bering  Strait  around  the  shores  of  Norton  Sound  are  a  number  of 
villages,  aggregating  a  population  of  633. 

On  the  northern  side  of  Norton  Sound  is  Golovin  Bay.  At  the  Golovin 
village  the  Swedish  Evangelical  Mission  Union  erected  a  building  and  estab¬ 
lished  a  mission  in  the  summer  of  1893.  Eighty-five  miles  east  of  Golovin  Bay, 
on  the  east  coast  of  Norton  Sound  is  the  village  of  Unalaklik.  A  mission  station 
was  established  at  Unalaklik  in  1886  by  the  Swedish  Evangelical  Mission  Union, 
with  Rev.  Axel  E.  Karlson  in  charge. 

In  1893  he  was  assisted  by  the  Rev.  August  Anderson,  the  Rev.  David 
Johnson,  N.  U.  Hultburg,  Miss  Malvena  Johnson  and  Miss  Hannah  Swenson. 
During  the  past  winter  a  number  of  Eskimo  were  baptized  and  admitted  into 
the  church.  They  have  a  home  school  with  47  pupils. 

Some  of  the  pupils  came  from  distant  villages,  one  family  coming  300  miles 
across  country  from  the  Arctic  region.  During  the  long  winter  evenings  the 
children  are  taught  various  kinds  of  industrial  work,  and  a  number  of  the  boys 
as  well  as  the  girls  take  lessons  in  sewing.  Invitations  have  been  received  by 
the  teachers  for  the  establishment  of  branch  schools  in  distant  villages. 

Forty  miles  south  of  Unalaklik  is  Saint  Michael,  a  trading  post,  originally 
founded  by  the  Russians  in  1835.  The  place  consists  of  a  few  log  houses,  in¬ 
closed  by  a  stockade,  the  property  of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company,  and  a 
chapel  of  the  Russo-Greek  Church,  with  an  occasional  service  by  a  priest  from 
Ikogmute.  This  is  the  point  where  the  ocean-going  steamers  transfer  freight 
with  the  small  steamers  that  ply  on  the  Yukon  River.  To  this  point  the  furs  col¬ 
lected  at  the  trading  posts  of  the  interior,  some  of  them  2,000  miles  distant,  are 
brought  for  reshipment  to  San  Francisco.  This  is  also  the  dividing  line  between 
the  Innuit  of  the  Arctic  and  the  Pacific.  Half  a  mile  from  the  trading  post  is  a 
native  village  of  30  houses  and  one  dance-house  or  town  hall. 

On  July,  1886,  an  agreement  was  entered  into  between  the  Commissioner 
of  Education  and  the  Missionary  Society  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  for 
the  establishment  of  a  school  in  the  great  Yukon  Valley.  Owing  to  the  impossibil¬ 
ity  of  getting  the  supplies  into  that  inaccessible  region,  the  school  was  maintained 
for  1886-87  at  St.  Michael,  on  the  coast,  by  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Octavius  Parker. 
In  the  summer  of  1887  the  Rev.  John  H.  Chapman  was  added  to  the  mission,  and 
the  station  was  removed  to  Anvik. 

In  the  summer  of  1889  the  Rev.  Mr.  Parker  retired  from  the  mission  on  ac¬ 
count  of  the  health  of  his  family.  In  1890  Mr.  Marcus  O.  Cherry  was  commis¬ 
sioned  to  Anvik,  remaining  two  years. 

In  the  summer  of  1891  the  Rev.  Jules  L.  Prevost  was  sent  out  to  take 
charge  of  St.  James  Mission,  near  the  junction  of  the  Yukon  and  Tanana  Rivers, 
which  had  been  previously  established  by  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  T.  H.  Canham,  of 
the  Church  of  England. 

Around  the  head  waters  of  the  Yukon  River  the  Church  Missionary  So¬ 
ciety  of  London  has  established  three  missions  on  the  borders  of  Alaska,  one  at 
Rampart  House,  on  the  Porcupine  River;  another  at  Buxton,  near  the  mouth  of 
“  Forty  Mile  Creek,”  and  the  third  at  Harper’s  Trading  Station.  The  latter  is 
occupied  by  Rev.  and  Mrs.  T.  H.  Canham.  Mrs.  Canham  was  the  first  white 
woman  to  cross  the  Rocky  Mountains  on  snow  shQ9§  north  of  the  Arctic  circle  in 
midwinter. 


Buxton  is  the  headquarters  of  Bishop  Bompas,  the  mission  school  being 
taught  by  Miss  Susan  Mellett. 

Rampart  House  was  the  field  of  the  Rev.  G.  C.  Wallis,  who  in  1893  re¬ 
turned  to  England  on  account  of  his  wife’s  health. 

In  1886-87  the  Roman  Catholics  entered  the  Yukon  Valley  and  established 
missions  and  schools  at  Nulato,  Kosoriffsky,  and  Cape  Vancouver. 

At  Kosoriffsky  they  have  73  pupils  in  the  home  school.  Their  missions  are 
in  charge  of  four  or  five  priests  and  nine  sisters  of  the  order  of  St.  Ann. 

In  1892  they  opened  a  mission  in  the  valley  of  the  Kuskokwim. 

South  of  the  Yukon  River  and  running  parallel  with  it  are  the  valleys  of 
the  Kuskokwim  and  Nushegak  Rivers,  occupied  by  the  Moravian  missionaries. 

In  the  spring  of  1885  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  W.  H.  Weinland  and  the  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  J.  H.  Kilbuck  and  Mr.  Hans  Torgerson  were  sent  to  the  Kuskokwim  River 
as  the  first  missionaries  to  the  Eskimo  of  Alaska. 

That  fall  Mr.  Torgerson,  the  carpenter,  was  accidentally  drowned,  and 
Messrs.  Weinland  and  Kilbuck  were  left  alone  to  erect  the  mission  buildings  as 
best  they  could  before  the  arctic  winter  set  in. 

In  the  winter  of  1886-87  Mr.  Weinland’ s  health  so  far  failed  that  he  with 
his  family  left  the  station  and  in  the  summer  of  1887  returned  to  California, 
where  he  has  been  doing  valuable  service  among  the  Mission  Indians. 

During  the  winter  of  1887-88  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Kilbuck  alone  bravely 
held  the  fort.  In  spite  of  the  30  degrees  below  zero  and  perils  of  storm  and  hos¬ 
tile  shamans,  Mr.  Kilbuck  would  walk  twenty-five  miles  on  snow  shoes  to  preach 
at  a  neighboring  village.  It  was  a  long  dark  winter,  but  the  dawn  was  at  hand. 
On  Good  Friday  preaching  on  the  crucifixion  and  explaining  that  Christ  died  on 
the  cross  to  take  away  the  guilt  of  sin,  some  of  the  older  men  exclaimed, 
“  Kou-ja-nah!  [thanksl.  We,  too,  desire  to  have  our  badness  taken  away  by 
that  blood.” 

Mrs.  Kilbuck’ s  health  becoming  impaired  under  the  great  hardships  which 
she  was  heroically  enduring,  in  the  summer  of  1889  Mrs.  Bachman,  wife  of  Bishop 
Henry  T.  Bachman,  volunteered  to  give  a  year  at  Bethel.  She  was  accompanied 
by  Miss  Carrie  Detterer  who  went  out  as  a  permanent  laborer.  In  1890  the  mis¬ 
sion  force  was  again  increased  by  the  arrival  of  Miss  Lydia  Lebeus,  and  in  1892 
by  Miss  Mary  Mack  and  in  1893  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  B.  Helmich  and  Miss  P.  C.  King. 

In  1893,  in  addition  to  the  six  American  missionaries,  there  were  two  native 
helpers  and  twenty-six  native  communicants. 

At  the  native  villages  of  Kikichtagamute  and  Akaigamute,  the  Christians, 
owing  to  the  persecutions  of  the  shamans,  are  preparing  to  leave  their  homes 
and  establish  a  Christian  village. 

At  Ongavigamute,  the  uppermost  preaching  station  on  the  Kuskokwim 
River,  a  log  mission-house,  18x20  feet,  has  been  erected.  This  station  is  being 
cared  for  by  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Weber.  Another  station  has  been  established  at 
Quinehaha,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kuskokwin. 

In  the  summer  of  1886  the  Moravians  located  and  erected  a  mission  station 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Nushagak  River.  The  mission  was  formerly  opened  in  the 
summer  of  1887  with  the  arrival  of  the  Rev.  and  Mrs  Wolff  and  Miss  Mary  Huber. 

In  1889  the  new  station  at  Carmel  was  strengthened  by  the  arrival  of  the 
Rev.  John  Herman  Schoechert,  and  in  1890  by  Miss  Emma  Huber. 

At  Carmel  is  an  industrial  home,  with  eighteen  pupils,  and  a  church, 
with  seventeen  communicants. 

In  1893  a  saw  mill  was  erected  near  Bethel. 

A  short  portage  across  the  Aliaska  Peninsula  brings  us  to  the  settlements  of 
the  civilized  Innuit  and  Creoles. 

In  1784,  Gregory  Shelikoff  formed  a  settlement  on  Kadiak  Island  and  com¬ 
menced  the  subjugation  and  civilization  of  the  people.  Soon  after  he  organized 
a  school,  which  was  the  first  in  Alaska.  The  first  church  building  in  Alaska  was 
also  erected  on  this  island.  For  a  long  time  it  was  the  Russian  capital,  the  chief 
seat  of  their  power  and  operations.  A  tombstone  in  the  Russian  cemetery  bears 
date  of  1791.  The  present  village  of  Kadiak  (Saint  Paul)  numbers  323  people. 
They  have  a  few  cattle,  and  cultivate  small  gardens.  They  have  a  large  church 


12 


and  a  resident  priest;  also  stores  of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company;  a  deputy 
collector  of  customs  and  a  register  of  the  tides.  Kadiak  is  the  headquarters  of 
the  Alaska  Commercial  Company  for  the  district  comprising  Cook’s  Inlet  and 
Prince  William’s  Sound. 

The  Russian  school  has  been  extinct  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
and  for  years  the  people  have  been  anxiously  looking  for  another. 

It  was  therefore  with  peculiar  pleasure  that  on  the  22d  of  September,  1886, 
an  experienced  teacher,  was  landed  with  the  necessary  school  books,  etc. 

Prof.  W.  E.  Roscoe,  with  his  wife  and  baby,  received  a  warm  welcome  from 
the  people.  He  was  not  in  the  village  twelve  hours  before  a  delegation  of 
the  citizens  waited  upon  him  to  know  if  a  night  school  could  not  be  established 
for  the  married  people  to  learn  English.  A  trader  100  miles  away  reading  in  a 
San  Francisco  paper  that  the  Government  would  open  a  school  at  Kadiak,  sent 
his  wife  and  two  half  grown  daughters  to  attend  the  school.  In  their  eager¬ 
ness  not  to  lose  a  day,  they  reached  Kadiak  six  months  in  advance  of  the 
teacher. 

Opposite  Kadiak  is  Wood  Island,  with  125  people,  of  whom  50  are  children. 
In  1893  a  large,  substantial  building  was  erected  on  Wood  Island  by  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Baptist’s  Woman’s  Home  Mission  Society,  as  a  Mission  for  Orphans, 
Waifs  and  other  children  of  that  region. 

Prof.  Roscoe,  of  Kadiak,  writes,  under  date  of  September  29,  1890:  “  In 
every  settlement  through  this  part  of  the  country  may  be  found  poor,  defenseless 
children,  clothed  only  in  rags,  with  no  one  to  provide  suitable  food  or  clothing, 
and  living  entirely  on  such  charity  as  may  be  found  among  a  heathen  people. 
There  are  many  destitute  children,  made  so  by  the  drunkenness  and  the  vaga¬ 
bond  character  of  their  parents.  In  addition  to  a  kind  of  beer  which  the  natives 
themselves  make  from  sugar  and  graham  flour,  they  succeed  in  buying  large 
quantities  of  whiskey  from  sailors  and  the  more  reckless  class  of  traders.  The 
salmon  canneries  are,  generall)r  speaking,  a  curse  to  the  natives.  The  Chinese 
employes  bring,  or  rather  smuggle,  immense  quantities  of  “  samshu  ”  into  the 
country,  and  peddle  it  out  to  the  natives.  In  the  Aleut  settlement  of  Afognak, 
the  natives  have  sold  the  bedding  from  their  huts  to  obtain  the  vile  stuff. 
The  winter  is  upon  them,  and  until  recently  they  have  been  so  demora¬ 
lized  with  liquor  that  they  had  not  laid  in  the  usual  winter’s  supply  of  dried  fish, 
their  main  subsistence.  Without  money  and  provisions  and  clothing,  what  mis¬ 
ery  and  want  will  there  be  in  that  village  this  winter,  all  because  of  intoxi¬ 
cating  liquors. 

“  White  hunters,  recently  arrived  from  the  westward,  tell  me  it  is  the  same 
out  there.  The  natives  are  demoralized  by  drink.  Now,  the  future  of  this  race 
is  that,  practically,  they  will  perish  from  off  the  face  of  the  globe  unless  they  are 
Christianized,  and  that  soon.  It  is  a  fact  that  the  children  do  not  generally 
show  this  terrible  craving  for  strong  drink.  The  pupils  of  my  school  are  ashamed 
of  their  parents’  drinking,  and  we  never  see  them  drink  any.  It  seems,  there¬ 
fore,  to  be  rather  an  acquired  habit  than  an  inherited  appetite.  It  is  only  right 
and  just  that  our  Government  take  orphan  children  and  inebriates’  children  and 
put  them  in  a  good  industrial  school  under  religious  teachers,  who,  in  addition, 
to  moral  and  intellectual  training,  will  teach  them  the  cultivation  of  soil,  the 
rearing  of  cattle,  sheep,  hogs  and  poultry,  the  elements  of  some  of  the  mechani¬ 
cal  arts ;  and  the  girls  the  art  of  sewing  and  cooking.” 

Just  north  of  Wood  Island  is  Spruce  Island,  where  a  Russian  monk  kept  a 
small  school  for  thirty  consecutive  years,  giving  instruction  in  the  rudimental 
arts  and  agricultural  industries.  The  monk  is  dead  and  the  school  discontinued. 

Near  by  are  the  two  villages  of  Afognak,  with  a  population  of  321,  of  whom 
146  are  children.  These  cultivate  100  acres  in  potatoes  and  turnips.  They  have 
a  large  Greek  church. 

Sept.  25th,  1886,  I  landed  school  desks  and  supplies  for  a  school  through 
the  breakers. 

In  1890  a  comfortable  school  building  and  teacher’s  residence  were  erected 
by  the  Government.  In  1891  the  teacher  reported  that  while  the  people  were 
quiet  and  inoffensive,  yet  a  hundred  years  of  misrule  has  broken  their  spirit  and 


*3 


left  them  without  hope  or  courage  to  better  their  condition ;  intemperance  is 
very  rife  among  them,  and  many  of  the  pupils  of  the  school,  during  the  winter, 
were  on  the  verge  of  starvation  because  their  parents  had  wasted  nearly  all  their 
living  on  intoxicating  liquors.  On  visiting  his  pupils  at  their  homes,  he  often 
found  both  parents  dead  drunk  and  the  hungry  children  shivering  with  cold. 
Until  some  efficient  means  can  be  employed  to  prevent  the  introduction  of 
liquors  among  them,  the  school  work  will  be  carried  on  under  very  great  dis¬ 
advantages. 

At  Karluk  a  comfortable  teacher’s  residence  and  school  building  have  been 
erected.  The  chief  industry  is  canning  salmon,  which  gives  employment  to 
children  as  well  as  adults,  so  that  during  the  run  of  the  salmon  in  summer  school 
is  suspended.  It  is  an  important  center  for  a  school,  and  it  is  hoped  that  much 
can  be  accomplished  in  the  future. 

ALEUTS  AND  CREOLES. 

From  the  Innuit  we  pass  to  the  consideration  of  the  Aleuts.  The  origin  of 
the  word  “Aleut”  is  not  known.  They  designate  themselves  by  the  term 
“  Unung-un,”  the  native  word  for  “  our  people.” 

They  occupy  the  Aleutian  chain  of  islands  and  portions  of  the  Aliaska 
peninsula,  from  the  Shumagin  Islands,  1,650  miles  westward  to  Attu. 

The  average  height  of  the  men  is  about  5  feet  6  inches.  They  have  coarse 
black  hair,  small  eyes,  high  cheek  bones,  flat  noses,  thick  lips,  large  mouths, 
broad  faces,  and  light  yellowish-brown  complexions,  with  a  strong  resemblance 
to  the  Japanese. 

The  marriage  relation  is  respected,  and  as  a  rule  each  family  has  its  own 
house,  with  two  to  three  rooms.  They  use  in  their  houses  a  small  cast-iron  cook- 
stove  or  neat  wrought-iron  cooking  range,  granite-ware  kettles,  white  crockery- 
ware  dishes,  pewter  or  silver-plated  ware,  and  feather  beds  covered  with  colored 
spreads.  Their  walls  are  adorned  with  colored  pictures,  and  their  houses  lighted 
with  kerosene  in  glass  lamps.  Many  homes  possess  an  accordion,  a 
hand-organ,  or  music-box,  some  of  the  latter  costing  as  high  as  $200.  They 
dress  in  American  garments,  and  their  women  study  with  great  interest  the 
fashion  plates  and  some  try  to  imitate  the  latest  styles. 

The  village  of  Unalaska  has  a  population  of  60  white  men  and  5  white 
women  and  251  Aleuts  and  Creoles,  of  whom  132  are  children.  They  have  a 
church,  priest’s  residence,  the  stores  residences,  warehouses  and  wffiarves  of  the 
Alaska  Commercial  Company,  18  frame  residences  and  50  barrabaras.  It  is  the 
most  important  settlement  in  Western  Alaska,  and  the  commercial  center  of  all 
trade  now  in  that  region  or  that  shall  develop  in  the  future.  It  is  the  natural 
outfitting  station  for  vessels  passing  between  the  Pacific  and  Arctic  Oceans.  In 
the  mountains  back  of  the  village  is  a  volcano  in  eruption. 

In  September,  1889,  Mr.  John  A.  Tuck  reached  the  village  and  opened  a 
day  school.  The  following  season  a  few  girls  were  taken  into  his  family  and  a 
mission  home  opened  under  the  auspices  of  the  Methodist  Woman’s  Home  Mis¬ 
sion  Society.  The  Home  family  has  increased  until  in  1893,  26  girls  en¬ 
joyed  its  advantages. 

Two  hundred  and  twenty-two  miles  north  of  Unalaska  are  the  celebrated 
Pribiloff,  or,  as  they  are  more  popularly  called,  Sea  Islands. 

The  village  of  Saint  Paul,  on  an  island  of  the  same  name,  is  laid  out  in 
regular  streets  like  an  American  village,  and  has  64  houses,  and  a  priest’s  resi¬ 
dence.  The  population  is  18  white  men,  four  white  women  and  222  Aleuts. 

Twenty-seven  miles  to  the  southeast  is  the  companion  island  of  Saint 
George  with  eight  white  men  and  85  Aleuts.  They  have  a  church  and  school. 
These  islands  are  leased  by  the  United  States  Government  to  the  North  Ameri¬ 
can  Commercial  Company. 

The  revenue  of  these  islands  since  1870  has  returned  to  the  Government 
the  entire  sum  paid  to  Russia  for  the  wffiole  country. 

From  these  two  islands  come  nearly  all  the  seal  skins  of  commerce.  There 
is  a  small  school  on  each  island  supported  at  the  expense  of  the  company,  with 
98  per  cent,  of  the  children  in  attendance. 


14 


In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Unalashka,  on  the  island  of  Spirkin,  is 
Borka.  This  village  is  noted  for  its  cleanliness.  With  their  white  scrubbed  and 
neatly  sanded  floors,  their  clear,  clean  windows,  neat  bedding,  tidy  rooms  and 
abundance  of  wild  flower  bouquets  on  tables  and  window-sills,  they  may  properly 
be  called  the  Hollanders  of  Alaska. 

To  the  eastward,  near  the  southern  end  of  the  Aliaska  Peninsula,  is  Bel- 
koffski,  with  a  population  of  185.  In  addition  to  the  buildings  of  the  great  trad¬ 
ing  firms,  the  village  has  30  frame  houses  and  27  barrabaras. 

In  1880  they  raised  among  themselves  $7,000  for  the  erection  of  a  church. 
One  half  of  them  can  read  and  write  in  the  Aleutian  language,  and  they  support 
a  small  school.  West  of  the  village  is  the  magnificent  volcano  Shilhaldin  in  ac¬ 
tive  eruption,  and  to  the  north  Pavloff  volcano  is  throwing  out  smoke  like  the 
smoke  stack  of  an  ocean  steamer. 

At  Unga,  with  its  74  children,  I  established  a  school  October  20th,  1886. 
Prof.  John  H.  Carr  (the  teacher)  and  his  wife  belonging  to  the  Methodist 
church. 

The  Methodist  Woman’s  Home  Mission  Society  have  erected  a  teacher’s 
residence  and  named  it  “The  Martha  Ellen  Stevens’  Cottage,”  in  memory  of 
Mrs.  Carr,  who  died  there. 

For  the  southern  coast  of  Alaska  between  Sitka  and  Unalashka  there  is  a 
monthly  mail  during  the  seven  summer  months  of  the  year.  To  the  north  of  the 
Aleutian  Islands  there  is  only  one  mail  a  year. 

In  the  Aleutian  district  are  1.890  Aleuts  and  479  Creoles. 

TINNEH. 

“Tinneh”  is  the  native  word  for  “  people.”  The  Tinneh  of  Alaska  are 
tall,  well-formed,  strong  and  courageous,  with  great  powers  of  endurance.  They 
are  great  hunters  and  fishers.  Polygamy  prevails  among  them,  the  men  fre¬ 
quently  having  more  than  one,  but  seldom  more  than  three  wives.  Wives  are 
taken  and  discarded  at  pleasure.  Among  some  of  them  female  infanticide  is 
occasionally  practiced.  The  bodies  of  the  dead  are  buried  in  boxes  above  ground. 
Shamanism  and  witchcraft,  with  all  their  attendant  barbarities,  prevail.  They 
also  believe  in  a  multitude  of  spirits,  good  and  bad. 

On  the  lower  course  of  the  Yukon  and  Kuskokwim  Rivers,  and  in  the  great 
range  of  country  north  and  south  bordering  on  the  Innuit  of  the  coast,  are  the 
western  Tinneh,  the  Ingalik  of  the  Russians,  numbering  in  three  bands 
about  1,800. 

From  the  junction  of  the  Yukon  and  the  Tanana  Rivers,  westward  to  the 
British  line,  from  the  Innuit  on  the  Arctic  shore  almost  to  the  Lynn  Canal  on  the 
south,  is  the  home  of  the  Kutchin  families.  They  number,  with  the  Ah-tena,  on 
Copper  River,  about  3,300.  Some  of  these  people  have  been  taught  to  read  by 
the  missionaries  cf  the  Church  Missionary  Society  of  England. 

For  years  the  Church  Missionary  Society  of  England  has  had  stations  at 
Fort  McPherson  and  La  Pierre  House,  bordering  on  Northeastern  Alaska,  and 
their  missionaries  have  made  occasional,  trips  on  the  Upper  Yukon  and  its 
tributaries. 

THLINGET. 

The  Thlinget,  composed  of  10  clans,  occupy  the  islands  of  the  Alexander 
Archipelago  and  coasts  adjacent.  They  number  5,834. 

Immediately  associated  with  these  are  788  Hydah,  occupying  the  southern 
end  of  Prince  of  Wales  Island. 

The  Thlinget  are  a  hardy,  self-reliant,  industrious,  self-supporting,  well- 
to-do,  warlike,  superstitious  race,  whose  very  name  is  a  terror  to  the  civilized 
Aleuts  to  the  west  as  well  as  to  the  savage  Tinnah  to  the  north  of  them. 

At  the  base  of  Mount  St.  Elias  is  Yakutat.  This  is  a  station  of  the  Swed¬ 
ish  Evangelical  Union  with  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Albin  Johnson,  Rev,  K.  J.  Hendrick¬ 
son  and  Miss  Selma  Peterson,  teachers.  Mrs.  Johnson  (Agnes  Wallin)  was  from 
Jankaping,  Sweden,  and  made  a  journey  of  9,000  miles  to  join  Rev.  Mr.  Johnson, 

!5 


to  whom  she  was  married  upon  her  arrival  at  the  mission,  on  the  18th  of  May, 
1891.  A  large,  substantial  boarding-house,  35  by  14  feet  in  size,  and  two  and  a 
half  stories  high,  erected  in  1891,  was  burned  in  the  winter  of  1892-3.  A  new 
building  was  at  once  commenced. 


CHILKAT. 

Occupying  the  extreme  northern  section  of  Lynn  Canal  and  the  valleys  of 
the  Chilkat  andChilkoot  Rivers,  is  the  Chilkat  tribe,  numbering  988.  They  are 
great  traders,  being  the  “middle  men”  of  their  region,  carrying  the  goods  of 
commerce  to  the  interior  and  exchanging  them  for  furs,  which  are  brought  to  the 


KLINGET  GIRLS  GAFFING  SALMON. 


coast,  and  in  turn  exchanged  for  more  merchandise.  Their  country  is  on  the 
highway  of  the  gold-seekers  to  the  interior. 

In  the  summer  of  1880,  a  trading  post  having  been  established  among 
them,  I  arranged  for  a  school  to  be  taught  by  the  wife  of  the  trader,  Mrs.  Sarah 
Dickinson,  native. 

The  mission  proper,  however,  commenced  July  18,  1881,  with  the  arrival 
of  Rev.  Eugene  S.  Willard  and  family. 

In  1882  Miss  Bessie  M.  Mathews,  of  Monmouth,  Ill.,  was  sent  out  to  take 
charge  of  a  boarding  department,  which  was  opened  in  1883.  The  station  is 
called  Haines.  Thirty  miles  up  the  Chilkat  River,  for  a  time,  a  school  was 
taught  by  Louis  and  Tillie  Paul,  both  natives. 

During  1885-6  Mr.  Willard  and  family  returned  East  to  regain  their  health, 
injured  by  exposure  and  hardships,  and  the  mission  was  closed.  It  was  reopened 

16 


again  in  1887  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  F.  F.  White,  who  remained  two  years.  In  1891 
Rev.  W.  W.  Warne  and  wife  were  sent  to  Haines  and  the  work  resumed.  In 
1893  the  converts  asked  to  be  organized  into  a  church. 


HOONAH. 

One  hundred  miles  southwest  are  the  Hoonahs,  occupying  both  sides  of 
Cross  Sound,  and  numbering  908.  In  1881  I  erected  a  school-house  and  teachers’ 
residence  at  their  principal  village,  on  Chichagoff  Island,  and  placed  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Walter  B.  Styles,  of  New  York  City,  in  charge.  In  1884  Rev.  and  Mrs. 
John  W.  McFarland  were  sent  from  Wrangell  to  Hoonah,  and  are  now  in  charge 
of  the  school. 

One  of  the  peculiarities  and  discouragements  of  this,  and  several  other 
stations  in  Alaska,  is  that  in  summer  the  people  all  leave  their  houses  in  search 
of  work  and  provisions.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  McFarland  partially  overcame  this  diffi¬ 
culty  by  taking  a  canoe  and  following  their  people  to  their  hunting  and  fish¬ 
ing  camp. 

There  as  elsewhere  faithful  work  bears  fruit,  and  in  1893  Mr.  McFarland 
reported  a  church  of  161  native  communicants  redeemed  from  heathenism. 

AUKE. 

A  few  miles  to  the  eastward,  on  the  Admiralty  Island,  are  the  Aukes, 
numbering  640.  In  that  region  valuable  gold  mines  have  been  opened  and  an 
American  mining  village  established  in  Juneau.  A  summer  school  was  taught 
by  Mrs.  W.  H.  R.  Corlies  during  1882  and  1883. 

In  the  spring  of  1886  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  commissioned  Rev.  Joseph  P.  White,  missionary  to  the  whites  at  Juneau, 
and  Rev.  E.  S.  Willard  to  the  natives. 

During  that  season  Mr.  Willard  took  down  the  mission  premises  at  Tsek- 
nuk-Sauk’-y,  removed  them  to  Juneau,  and  from  the  materials  erected  a  neat 
church  for  the  natives. 

A  small  house  (which  has  since  been  replaced  by  a  commodious  building) 
was  erected  adjacent  to  the  Church  for  a  Mission  Home  for  Native  Children. 
Assisted  by  Mrs.  Willard,  Miss  Elizabeth  Matthews  and  Miss  Margaret  Dunbar, 
Mr.  Willard  has  built  up  a  church  of  52  native  communicants  (1893),  and  a 
flourishing  Mission  Home,  from  which  a  number  have  been  sent  to  the  training 
school  at  Sitka. 


TAKU. 

A  few  miles  to  the  south,  on  the  mainland,  is  the  Taku  tribe,  numbering 
269.  A  summer  school  was  held  among  them  in  1880,  by  Rev.  and  Mrs.  W.  H. 
R.  Corlies,  of  Philadelphia.  In  1882,  pressed  by  the  importunities  of  the  leading 
men  of  the  tribe,  he  took  up  his  abode  among  them,  and  erected  school  and 
residence  buildings  at  Tsek-nuk-Sauk’-y. 

In  1884  circumstances  required  their  return  to  Philadelphia.  The  people 
in  the  meantime  having  removed  to  Juneau.  In  1886  the  mission  buildings  were 
taken  there  by  Mr.  Willard. 


HOOCHINOO. 

On  the  southwestern  side  of  Admiralty  Island  are  the  Hoochinoo,  num¬ 
bering  666.  The  main  village  is  at  Killisnoo,  where  the  North  West  Trading  Co. 
has  established  a  large  fish-oil  manufactory.  In  the  neighborhood  are  extensive 
coal  fields  and  valuable  gold  mines.  I  established  a  public  school  in  this  place  in 
January,  1886. 

In  1892  Rev.  L.  F.  Jones  and  wife  were  placed  in  charge  of  the  school,  and 
in  1894  there  was  a  call  for  a  church  organization. 

17 


KAKE. 

To  the  south,  on  Kuiu  and  Kupreanoff  Islands, are  the  Kake,  numbering  568. 
In  the  winter  of  1892-93  a  school  was  opened  for  the  Kakes,  with  Charles 
H.  Edwards  in  charge.  A  few  months  afterwards  Mr.  Edwards  being  shot  by 
whiskey  smugglers  the  school  was  closed  and  has  not  yet  been  resumed. 

STIKINE. 

Eastward,  around  the  mouth  and  lower  course  of  the  Stikine  River,  are 
the  Stikine.  They  number  317.  Their  principal  village  is  at  Fort  Wrangell,  on 
an  island  of  the  same  place. 

In  the  Fall  of  1877  I  opened  for  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Home  Missions 
a  mission  school,  with  Mrs.  A.  R.  McFarland  in  charge.  In  1878  Rev.  S.  Hall 
Young,  of  West  Virginia,  was  sent  out.  The  same  season  a  boarding  depart¬ 
ment  for  girls  was  established  by  Mrs.  A.  R.  McFarland.  In  1879  Miss  Maggie 
A.  Dunbar,  of  Steubenville,  Ohio,  was  added  to  the  teaching  force.  The  same 
year  the  erection  of  a  suitable  building  was  commenced,  which  was  finished  and 
occupied  the  following  year.  Also  the  same  year  Rev.  W.  H.  R.  Corlies  and 
family  arrived  from  Philadelphia.  Mrs.  Corlies  opened  a  school  on  the  beach 
for  visiting  natives,  and  her  husband  a  night  school  for  adults.  He  also  served 
as  missionary  physician  to  the  place  until  his  removal  to  the  Taku. 

In  1882  Rev.  John  W.  McFarland  and  Miss  Kate  A.  Rankin  were  added 
to  the  missionary  force.  In  the  Fall  of  1884  the  Girls’  Home  was  removed  to 
Sitka,  together  with  Mrs.  A.  R.  McFarland  and  Miss  Rankin.  Mr.  J.  W. 
McFarland  and  his  wife  {nee  Dunbar)  were  given  charge  of  the  mission  at 
Hoonah. 

In  1888  the  Rev.  S.  Hale  Young  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Allan  McKay, 
and  in  1872  he  in  turn  was  followed  by  Rev.  Clarence  Thwing.  Under  the 
labors  of  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Thwing  the  old  church  is  regaining  its  former  prosperity. 

METLAKAHTLA. 

In  the  Spring  of  1S87  the  Tesimpeans  who  had  been  civilized  and  Christian¬ 
ized  by  Mr.  William  Duncan  at  Metlakahtla,  British  Columbia,  becoming 
alarmed  at  the  encroachments  of  the  Colonial  government  and  the  arbitrary 
measures  of  the  church  of  England,  gave  up  their  comfortable  homes,  aban¬ 
doned  their  improvements  and  property,  that  they  could  not  carry  with  them, 
and  empty  handed  went  out  into  the  unbroken  wilderness  for  conscience  sake. 
Crossing  the  international  boundary  line  into  Alaska  they  settled  upon  Annette 
island,  sixty  miles  north  of  their  former  home. 

On  the  7th  of  August  Mr.  William  Duncan  arrived,  and  amid  general 
rejoicing  and  the  firing  of  guns,  the  “stars  and  stripes”  were  floated  over  this 
people,  that  thus  publicly  transferred  their  allegiance  from  Canada  to  the 
United  States. 

During  the  first  season  the  heavy  forest  was  felled  and  over  a  hundred 
log  houses  were  erected  for  a  temporary  shelter  of  the  inhabitants. 

Through  the  pecuniary  assistance  of  friends  in  New  York,  Boston, 
Portland  and  elsewhere,  a  sawmill,  salmon  cannery  and  other  industries  have 
been  established.  A  church,  school  houses,  and  other  public  buildings  erected, 
and  the  old  log  dwellings  are  rapidly  being  replaced  by  comfortable  painted 
frame  dwellings. 

The  Census  of  1890  gives  this  model  village  a  population  of  828. 

TONGASS. 

Two  hundred  miles  south  of  Fort  Wrangell  are  the  Tongass,  numbering 
273.  Some  of  these  cross  over  to  British  Columbia,  and  find  school  privileges  at 
Port  Simpson,  a  station  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  of  Canada.  In  1884 
a  school  was  established  among  them,  with  Louis  and  Tillie  Paul  as  teachers. 

In  December,  1886,  Prof.  S.  A.  Saxman  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  public 
school.  Mr.  Saxman  and  Mr.  Paul  being  drowned  a  few  months  after,  the  school 
and  mission  were  discontinued. 


18 


HYDAH. 


West  of  the  Tongass,  on  the  southern  half  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  Island, 
are  the  Hydah,  numbering  788.  They  are  a  large,  well  formed,  and  handsome 
race,  with  light  complexion,  and  have  long  been  noted  for  their  bravery  and  fe¬ 
rocity  in  war.  Terrorizing  all  the  neighboring  tribes,  they  were  known  as  the 
“  Bulldogs”  of  the  North  Pacific.  Years  ago  they  did  not  hesitate  to  attack  and 
plunder  English  and  American  vessels.  In  1854  they  held  the  captain  and  crew 
of  an  American  vessel  in  captivity  until  ransomed  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Fur  Com¬ 
pany.  Their  villages  are  remarkable  for  the  number  of  totem  sticks  These  are 
carved  logs  from  one  to  two  feet  in  diameter,  and  from  twenty  to  sixty  feet  high. 
Some  of  them  contain  hollow  cavities,  in  which  are  placed  the  ashes  of  cremated 
dead  chiefs  ;  others  are  heraldic  and  represent  the  family  totem  or  orders.  In 
some  cases  a  large  oval  opening  through  one  of  these  sticks  forms  the  entrance 
to  the  house ;  in  others  the  pole  is  at  one  side  of  the  entrance.  The  house  is  a 
large,  low,  plank  building,  from  forty  to  fifty  feet  square,  with  a  fireplace  in  the 
center  of  the  floor,  and  a  large  opening  in  the  roof  for  the  escape  of  the  smoke. 
Some  have  inserted  windows  and  doors  in  their  buildings,  and  procured  bed¬ 
steads,  tables,  stoves,  dishes  and  other  appliances  of  civilized  life. 

Their  food  consists  largely  of  fish,  dried  or  fresh,  according  to  the  season. 
Wild  berries  and  deer  are  plentiful.  The  berries  are  preserved  in  fish  oil  for 
winter  use.  Their  coast  also  abounds  with  good  clams.  They  raise  large  quan¬ 
tities  of  potatoes. 

The  Hydah  are  noted  for  their  skill  in  carving  wood,  bone,  gold,  silver  and 
stone.  The  finest  of  the  great  cedar  canoes  of  the  northwest  coast  are  manufac¬ 
tured  by  them.  They  practice  polygamy  and  hold  slaves.  The  husband  buys 
his  wife,  frequently  while  a  mere  girl,  from  her  parents.  If  she  does  not  suit,  she 
can  be  returned  and  the  price  refunded.  They  are  inveterate  gamblers. 

On  the  22d  of  August,  1881,  a  mission  was  established  among  them  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Home  Missions,  at  the  village  of  Howkan, 
with  Mr.  James  E.  Chapman  in  charge  as  a  teacher.  The  station  was  called 
Jackson  by  the  missionaries.  In  the  spring  of  1882  Rev.  J.  Loomis  Gould  and 
family,  of  West  Virginia,  were  sent  to  the  Hydah.  The  same  year  some  ladies 
in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. ,  provided  a  saw-mill  for  the  station;  and  in  the  fall  of  that 
year  Miss  Clara  A.  Gould  was  added  to  the  teaching  force. 

In  September,  1885,  the  mission  day  school  was  changed  into  a  public 
school,  Miss  Gould  continuing  the  teacher.  In  1886  Mrs.  A.  R.  McFarland  re¬ 
moved  from  Sitka  and  established  a  home  for  girls,  with  Miss  C.  Baker  as  assistant. 
Mr.  Gould  has  gathered  around  him  a  native  church  of  fifty-four  communicants. 

HANEGAH. 

In  the  northern  portion  of  Prince  of  Wales  Island  are  the  Hanegah,  num¬ 
bering  587.  Their  winter  village  is  Tuxikan.  In  summer  they  congregate  at  the 
salmon  cannery  and  saw-mill  at  Klawack. 

In  November,  1889,  I  left  at  Tuxikan  Rev.  L.  W.  Currie,  of  Texas,  to  es¬ 
tablish  a  public  school.  Mr.  Currie  was  a  minister  of  the  Southern  Presbyterian 
Church,  with  a  large  experience  among  the  Indians  of  the  Indian  Territory  and 
of  Texas.  As  no  white  man  had  ever  lived  in  their  village,  there  was  no  com¬ 
fortable  house  to  be  had,  and  the  mission  family  were  compelled  to  go  into  a 
native  house. 

It  was  a  large  building,  80  x  37  feet  in  size,  with  plank  sides  and  a  rotten 
bark  roof.  On  the  inside  of  the  building  a  raised  platform  about  eight  feet  wide 
extended  around  the  four  sides  of  the  room.  Enclosed  by  this  platform  and  three 
feet  below  it  was  the  main  floor,  forming  a  pit  21  x  22  feet  in  size.  In  the  centre 
of  the  pit  a  space  eight  feet  square  was  left  unfloored  and  covered  with  gravel. 
This  was  the  fireplace.  The  smoke,  circling  around  the  room,  passed  out  of  a 
hole  six  feet  square,  -which  was  left  in  the  roof  for  that  purpose.  The  hole  that 
permitted  the  escape  of  the  smoke  allowed  the  free  descent  of  the  rain.  The 
south  side  of  the  house  extended  on  piles  over  the  tide.  Into  this  building 
which  an  Eastern  farmer  would  consider  unfit  for  his  cattle,  a  choice  Christian 


*9 


family  moved  without  a  murmur.  A  partition  of  sheeting  was  erected  along 
the  edge  of  the  platform,  forming  a  partition  between  them  and  the  pit.  The 
pit  was  set  apart  for  the  school  and  church  rooms,  and  the  platforms  on  two  sides 
divided  into  rooms  for  the  teacher’s  family.  On  the  other  two  platforms  lived 
the  native  who  owned  the  house.  He  had  a  family  of  six. 

In  1887  Mr.  Currie  removed  to  Klawackand  erected  a  school  and  residence 
building.  Dying  in  1887,  his  wife  returned  to  Texas. 

For  a  couple  of  years  the  mission  was  continued  by  Mr.  H.  C.  Wilson,  a 
layman,  but  in  1893  is  unsupplied. 

SITKAS. 

To  the  north,  on  the  western  coast  of  Baranoff,  are  the  Sitkas,  numbering 
721.  Their  chief  village  is  at  Sitka,  the  old  capital  of  the  Russian  possessions  in 
America.  It  was  their  political,  commercial,  religious  and  educational  center. 
As  early  as  1805  a  school  was  opened  at  Sitka.  It  held  a  very  precarious  exist¬ 
ence,  however,  until  1820,  when  it  came  under  the  charge  of  a  naval  officer,  who 
kept  a  good  school  for  thirteen  years.  In  1833  this  school  came  under  the  direc¬ 
tion  of  Etolin,  who  still  further  increased  its  efficiency.  Etolin  was  a  Creole, 
who  by  force  of  ability  and  merit,  raised  himself  to  the  highest  position  in  the 
country,  that  of  chief  director  of  the  fur  company  and  governor  of  the  colony. 
He  was  a  Lutheran,  the  patron  of  schools  and  churches.  While  governor,  he 
erected  a  Protestant  church  at  Sitka  and  presented  it  with  a  small  pipe  organ, 
which  is  still  in  use. 

In  1840,  beside  the  colonial  school  at  Sitka,  was  one  for  orphan  boys  and 
sons  of  workmen  and  subaltern  employes  of  the  fur  company,  in  which  were 
taught  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  grammar,  mechanical  trades  and  religion. 

In  1839  a  girls’  school  of  a  similar  character  was  established,  and  the  num¬ 
ber  of  boarders  limited  to  forty. 

In  1841  a  theological  school  was  established  at  Sitka,  which  in  1849  was  ad¬ 
vanced  to  the  grade  of  a  seminary. 

This  made  five  schools  at  Sitka — two  for  the  children  of  the  lower  class, 
two  for  the  higher  class,  and  one  seminary. 

About  the  time  of  the  transfer  of  the  country  the  teachers  were  recalled  to 
Russia  and  the  schools  suspended. 

But  with  the  change  of  government  came  a  new  people.  The  majority  of 
the  Russians  left  the  country  and  their  places  were  taken  by  Americans.  Many 
came  in  from  California,  and  on  the  8th  of  November,  1867,  less  than  a  month 
from  the  time  that  the  country  passed  under  the  United  States  flag,  the  citizens 
called  a  meeting  and  formed  a  temporary  local  government,  and  on  the  18th  of 
December,  1867,  a  petition,  formed  by  forty-nine  persons,  two  of  whom  “made 
their  mark,”  was  presented  to  the  common  council,  asking  that  a  citizens’  meet¬ 
ing  might  be  called  to  empower  the  council  to  establish  a  school.  On  the  20th  of 
March,  1868,  the  council  adopted  some  school  regulations  and  appointed  three 
trustees,  who  exercised  a  joint  control  with  a  committee  of  officers  from  the  mili¬ 
tary  post  at  Sitka.  During  the  winter  of  1868-69  a  school  building  was  pur¬ 
chased.  The  annual  reports  of  the  trustees  have  disappeared,  and  there  is  noth¬ 
ing  to  show  the  time  when  teaching  commenced.  In  October,  1869,  the  council 
voted  that  the  salary  of  the  teacher  should  be  $75  per  month  in  coin,  and  on 
March  1,  1871,  it  was  ordered  to  be  $25  per  month,  which  evidently  means 
that  at  the  latter  period  the  post  commander  withdrew  the  $50  per  month  which 
had  been  paid  from  the  army  funds.  On  the  12th  of  August,  1871,  permission 
was  given  the  Bishop  of  the  Greek  Church  to  teach  the  Russian  language  one 
hour  each  day  in  the  public  school.  During  1873  the  school  seems  to  have  died 
out. 

In  1879  and  1880  an  attempt  was  made  to  establish  a  school  for  Russian 
children,  which  was  taught  by  Mr.  Alonzo  E.  Austin  and  Miss  Etta  Austin. 

In  the  winter  of  1877  and  1878  Rev.  John  G.  Brady  was  appointed  to 
Sitka,  and  in  April,  1878,  a  school  was  opened  by  Mr.  Brady  and  Miss  Fanny 
E.  Kellogg.  In  December,  through  a  combination  of  circumstances,  it  was  dis¬ 
continued.  In  the  spring  of  1880  Miss  Olinda  Austin  was  sent  out  from  New 


20 


York  city,  and  commenced  school  April  5  in  one  of  the  guardhouses  with  103 
children  present.  This  number  increased  to  130.  Then  some  of  the  parents  ap¬ 
plied  for  admission,  but  could  not  be  received,  as  the  room  would  not  accommo¬ 
date  any  more. 

In  November  some  of  the  boys  applied  to  the  teacher  for  permission  to  live 
in  the  schoolhouse.  At  home,  they  alleged,  there  was  so  much  drinking,  talking 
and  carousing  that  they  could  not  study.  The  teacher  replied  that  she  had  no 
accommodations,  bedding  or  food  for  them.  But  they  were  so  much  in  earnest 
that  they  said  they  would  provide  for  themselves.  Upon  receiving  permission, 
seven  native  boys,  thirteen  and  fourteen  years  of  age,  bringing  a  blanket  each, 
voluntarily  left  their  homes  and  took  up  their  abode  in  a  vacant  room  of  one  of 
the  Government  buildings.  Thus  commenced  the  boarding  department  of  the 
Sitka  school.  Soon  other  boys  joined  them.  Captain  Henry  Glass,  who  suc¬ 
ceeded  Captain  Beardslee  in  the  command  of  the  U.  S.  S.  Jamestown,  from  the 
first,  with  his  officers,  especially  Lieutenant  F.  M.  Symonds,  U.  S.  N.,  took  a  deep 
interest  in  the  school.  As  he  had  opportunity  he  secured  boys  from  distant 
tribes  and  placed  them  in  the  institution,  until  there  were  27  boys  in  the  boarding 
department. 

In  the  winter  of  1882  the  school  house  was  burned,  and  the  boys  took 
refuge  in  an  abandoned  Government  stable,  which  was  fitted  up  for  them.  In 
the  fall  of  1882,  after  consultation  with  the  collector  of  customs,  the  commander 
of  the  United  States  man-of-war,  and  the  leading  citizens,  I  selected  a  new  loca¬ 
tion  for  the  school  outside  of  village  limits  and  erected  a  two-and-a-half  story 
building,  100  x  50  feet  in  size. 

This  location  was  donated  to  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  by  the  Rev. 
JohnG.  Brady. 

In  the  spring  of  1884  the  faithful  labors  of  Rev.  Alonzo  E.  Austin  and 
teachers  bore  fruit.  The  Holy  Spirit  was  poured  out  and  nearly  all  the  adult 
pupils  were  brought  to  Christ.  The  work  extended  to  the  native  village,  and 
many  of  the  parents  accepted  Jesus  as  a  personal  Saviour. 

On  the  12th  of  August,  1884.  I  took  charge  of  the  Mission  and  School,  and 
in  connection  with  Mr.  Austin  on  the  7th  of  September  organized  a  church  of 
forty-four  native  and  five  white  communicants.  The  church  has  since  grown  to 
over  341  members. 

On  September  14th  to  16th  the  Presbytery  of  Alaska  organized  at  Sitka 
and  held  its  first  meeting.  During  the  same  month  Mrs.  A.  R.  McFarland  and 
her  Home  for  Girls  were  removed  from  Fort  Wrangell  to  Sitka,  and  the  united 
schools  made  a  Government  contract  Industrial  and  Training  School. 

To  meet  the  growth  of  the  school  a  second  large  building,  130x50  feet  in 
size  and  two  and  one-half  stories  high,  was  erected  and  so  far  finished  that  it 
was  occupied  January  1st,  1885. 

In  the  spring  of  1885,  on  my  being  appointed  United  States  General  Agent 
of  Education  in  Alaska,  Professor  A.  J.  Davis,  of  Pennsylvania,  was  appointed 
superintendent  of  the  school.  Family  matters  requiring  his  return  east,  he  was 
succeeded  by  Mr.  Wm.  A.  Kelly,  of  Pennsylvania. 

As  the  school  grew,  the  steam  laundry,  boys’  and  girls’  hospital  wards, 
two  industrial  buildings,  church,  library  and  museum,  eight  model  cottages  and 
other  buildings  were  erected. 

In  1890  Professor  Kelly  reported  concerning  the  164  pupils  in  the  school: 

“  Our  school  is  distinctively  co-education al.  The  boys  and  girls  recite  in 
the  same  classes,  dine  together  in  the  same  dining-room,  and,  under  wholesome 
restraint,  have  opportunities  for  social  intercourse. 

“  A  few  years  of  sedulous  training  have  developed  in  some  of  our  oldest 
pupils  a  spirit  of  emulation,  a  sense  of  personal  responsibility,  self-respect,  self- 
reliance,  and  self-helpfulness,  which  command  respect.  Most  of  our  large  boys, 
advanced  far  enough  to  read  intelligently  in  the  second  reader,  are  learning 
a  trade  (all  being  in  school  half  of  each  day  and  at  work  half  a  day),  and  the  dili¬ 
gence  with  which  they  pursue  their  studies,  the  zest  with  which  they  enter  upon 
industrial  work  day  after  day  is  most  praiseworthy  of  them  and  encouraging  to 
their  instructors. 


21 


“  All  of  the  shoes  for  the  pupils  of  our  school  are  hand-made  in  our  shop, 
under  the  direction  of  a  competent  foreman.  Considerable  custom  work  is  also 
none. 

“  Our  supply  of  barrels  and  half-barrels  far  exceeds  the  demand,  yet  we 
consider  coopering  an  excellent  trade  for  our  young  men.  Owing  to  high  freight, 
barrels  are  usually  made  at  the  fishing  station,  where  needed,  and  coopers  are  in 
demand  at  those  places. 

“  We  are  always  pressed  with  work  in  carpentry.  The  variety  and  scope 
of  work  have  proved  a  most  valuable  source  of  instruction  to  the  boys,  most  of 
vhom  are  aptly  adapted  to  mechanical  industry.  The  boys  have  made  com¬ 
mendable  progress.  Young  men  who  can  do  carpenter  work  fairly  well  can 
find  opportunity  to  ply  their  trade  in  any  of  the  villages  of  Alaska. 

“We  have  eight  model  cottages,  six  of  which  are  occupied  by  young  mar¬ 
ried  couples  from  the  school.  These  young  folks  have  been  thrown  entirely  upon 
their  own  responsibility  and  resources,  and  they  are  doing  well  in  earning  a  live¬ 
lihood,  while  their  houses  are  kept  clean,  neat  and  homelike.  The  environments 
of  family  life  among  the  young  folk,  in  contradistinction  to  that  in  vogue  among 
the  natives,  tend  to  create  new  conditions  and  inspire  new  impulses  among  their 
own  people. 

“  The  girls  are  trained  in  every  department  of  household  industry,  kitchen, 
dining-room,  teachers’  room,  etc.  The  matron  and  her  assistants  give  each  girl 
individual  care  in  the  details  of  housekeeping,  thus  gradually  inculcating  and 
developing  a  sense  of  personal  responsibility. 

“  Our  boys  do  the  bread  baking  for  the  school,  while  the  girJs  in  turn  are 
taught  how  to  bake  and  cook  for  a  family.  They  are  also  trained  to  wait  upon 
the  table,  and  they  serve  the  teachers  and  guests  with  grace  and  manners.  Our 
young  boys  are  also  trained  in  our  school,  kitchen  and  dining-room. 

“  Our  pupils,  from  the  children  to  the  adults,  sing  with  a  spirit  and  under¬ 
standing  that  outrivals  many  of  the  public  schools. 

“  Our  brass  band  of  20  members  dispenses  music  for  the  school  and  for  the 
town  on  public  occasions. 

“We  have  a  military  company  of  35  members.  The  guns  were  kindly 
loaned  us  by  the  Governor  of  the  Territory. 

“Lessons  in  patriotism  are  constantly  inculcated.  The  Alaskans  are  a 
loyal,  patriotic  people.  Rev.  A.  E.  Austin,  the  veteran  missionary  of  the  school, 
has  charge  of  the  religious  and  devotional  exercises.” 

In  1891  Mr.  Kelly  resigning  in  order  to  secure  needed  rest,  he  was  succeeded 
by  Mr.  Alfred  Docking,  and  he  a  few  months  later  by  Rev.  A.  E.  Austin,  who 
in  his  long  service  at  Sitka  has  built  up  a  native  church  of  341  communicants. 

The  mission  force  in  1893  consisted  of  Rev.  A.  E.  Austin,  Mr.  R.  A. 
Clark,  Mrs.  A.  E.  Austin,  Mrs.  M.  C.  Wade,  Miss  A.  R.  Kelsey,  Mrs.  M.  D. 
Clark,  Miss  F.  H.  Willard  (Native),  Mrs.  A.  T.  Simpson,  Mrs.  T.  K.  Raul 
(Native),  Mr.  J.  A.  Shields,  Mr.  A.  T.  Simson,  Mr.  J.  E.  Gamble,  and  Mr.  W. 
Wells  (Native). 

In  addition  to  the  Training  School,  the  Greek  and  Papal  churches  each 
have  a  school  and  the  Government  two  schools  at  Sitka. 

But  of  all  the  schools  at  Sitka,  the  Presbyterian  Training  School  is  the 
“City  of  Refuge”  for  those  fleeing  from  death — the  “  House  of  Hope”  to  those 
sitting  in  the  habitations  of  cruelty — the  “House  of  Help”  to  the  starving,  home¬ 
less,  friendless  waif — an  asylum  to  the  escaped  slave — the  protector  of  help¬ 
less  girlhood. 

A  few  years  ago  a  little  girl  was  accused  of  witchcraft.  The  tribe  bound 
her  with  a  rope.  A  stalwart  chief,  holding  one  end  of  the  rope,  walked  in  ad¬ 
vance,  dragging  the  child  after  him,  while  another  came  behind  holding  the  other 
end  of  the  rope.  These  men  were  the  admiration  of  the  tribe  for  their  bravery 
in  holding  between  them  a  puny,  starved  girl  of  ten.  She  was  rescued  by  Prof. 
Austin,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  school,  and  given  a  home. 

A  girl  of  fourteen,  when  about  to  be  sold  into  a  life  of  sin,  for  the  benefit 
of  a  distant  relative,  escaped  from  her  grandmother  who  was  guarding  her.  and 
found  a  refuge  in  the  school. 


22 


Another,  a  girl  of  about  seventeen,  was  being  sold  for  similar  purposes  by 
her  stepmother  and  aunt.  The  two  women,  quarreling  over  the  division  of  the 
money,  came  to  settle  the  dispute  before  the  clerk  of  the  court,  who  took  the  girl 
from  her  unnatural  protectors  and  placed  her  in  the  school. 

Another  was  the  slave  of  a  prominent  chief.  After  his  death  his  two 
widows  treated  her  so  cruelly  that  she  ran  away,  and  was  found  hidden  under  a 
house.  She  was  taken  into  the  school  and  furnished  protection  and  a  home.  A 
man  that  married  one  of  the  widows  claimed  her  as  his  property,  and  tried  to  get 
possession  of  her,  but  in  vain.  The  school  was  her  protector. 

Another,  to  prevent  being  married  to  her  stepfather  and  becoming  a  plural 
wife  with  her  own  mother,  ran  away  and  came  to  the  school.  For  a  long  time 
she  did  not  dare  visit  her  mother,  and  when  at  length  she  ventured  to  visit  home, 
they  locked  her  up  in  a  room  to  keep  her.  After  some  days  she  again  escaped 
and  returned  to  the  school  for  shelter. 

Another  girl,  of  fifteen,  and  her  sister  ten  years  of  age,  were  picked  up  on 
the  beach  at  a  mining  camp.  They  were  without  friends  or  home,  almost  with¬ 
out  clothing,  and  in  a  starving  condition.  Through  neglect  and  cruel  treatment 
the  younger  one  was  almost  blind.  These  orphan  sisters  were  taken  into  the 
school,  fed,  clothed,  and  kindly  cared  for.  Medical  attendance  was  provided, 
and  the  blind  one  restored  to  sight. 

Among  the  boys,  one  had  been  sold  as  a  slave  twice  before  he  was  brought 
to  the  school.  Another  had  been  shot  as  a  slave  and  a  bullet  sent  crushing 
through  his  shoulder.  Another  had  been  tied  up  as  a  witch  and  kept  four  days 
without  food,  when  he  was  rescued.  Another  when  born,  was  about  to  be 
killed  by  his  parents  to  save  the  trouble  of  taking  care  of  him.  A  neighboring 
woman  took  pity  on  the  baby  and  removed  him  to  her  own  house.  When  the 
school  commenced  he  was  placed  in  it.  Many  others  have  come  under  the  pro¬ 
tection  of  the  school  through  trials  and  dangers. 

And.  all  along  the  coast  if  a  child  is  to  be  sold  into  slavery,  or  is  in  danger 
of  being  tortured  to  death  as  a  witch,  or  forced  into  a  life  of  sin,  they 
know  that  if  they  can  escape  and  reach  the  Presbyterian  Mission  School  at  Sitka 
they  are  safe. 

The  school  is  doing  a  great  work — a  work  much  greater  than  the  denomi¬ 
nation  realizes.  But  it  needs  more  teachers  and  more  funds.  Any  individual, 
Sabbath  school  or  society,  desirous  to  aid  this  work,  should  address  Woman’s 
Executive  Committee,  156  Fifth  Avenue,  JMew  York  City. 

Thus,  at  points  hundreds  of  miles  apart,  a  few  central  stations  have  been 
established,  from  which  the  story  of  the  Cross  can  be  told  to  the  people  of  those 
far  away  regions. 

While  communication  is  made  with  the  outside  world  by  means  of  steamer 
twice  a  month  at  some  of  the  more  important  stations  in  Southeastern  Alaska, 
the  stations  in  Arctic  and  Central  Alaska  are  cut  off  almost  entirely  from  the 
great  busy  outside  world.  Once  a  year  the  curtain  lifts,  and  they  receive  their 
supplies  of  provisions,  clothes,  letters,  papers,  etc.,  and  then  it  shuts  down  and 
they  are  closed  in  for  another  twelve  months. 

Surely,  the  heroic  men  and  women  who  thus  voluntarily  shut  themselves 
out  of  the  world  and  calmly  face  year  after  year  a  polar  winter,  with  its  long 
depressing  night  (which  hardy  men  in  arctic  explorations  get  enough  of  in  two 
years)  who  brave  alike  the  fanaticism  and  superstition  of  ignorant  and  barbarous 
people  and  treat  with  diseases  as  deadly  and  dangerous  as  leprosy — who  do  all 
this  gladly,  that  they  may  carry  to  those  dark,  wretched,  and  cruel  northern 
homes  the  light  and  joy  of  the  Gospel,  deserve  and  should  have  the  daily  re¬ 
membrance  at  the  Throne  of  Grace  of  all  of  God’s  people.  For  them  unceas¬ 
ing  prayer  should  be  made,  that  life  and  health  and  reason  be  preserved,  and 
that  their  message  should  be  accompanied  with  divine  power  for  the  salvation 
of  the  people  among  whom  they  labor. 


1894. 

PRICE,  6  CENTS  EACH,  $4.60  PER  HUNDRED. 


